The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Great information! That said, would a 6 or 7’ model be operable with a FSM? I did see a 7’ that was built for 1000 rpm PTO speed which would go well with overrunning the PTO to reduce torque demands.

Ideas?

For some time I have been looking into buying a rototiller/rotovator to put behind my Fordson. I have a ‘61 FSM and it runs well. It is equipped with the Howard Deep reduction under drive so ground speed will be right. How much tiller can I run? I’d like to go at least 6’ so I can get out to the wid...

Lol ain’t that the truth! And the moment you leave your tools and spare parts behind for whatever reason that’s when things are impossible to get working again!

I like your idea of keeping a spare belt on there!

That’s an idea that has rolled around in my head for quite some time. Trouble is clearing the crank bolt with whatever flange I use. What seems easiest would be to use the existing pulley, thread two holes into the face, and bolt my socket to it using tabs welded to the rim of the socket... all this...

I’m thinking you mean to have a third valve after the lift and dump control valves, and the answer is yes. With open center you can add as many additional open center valves as necessary for how ever many cylinders you want to control.

I have been looking for a pulley for the last five years or so and nothing like that has come up. Doing the math, the torque requirement for a 20 gpm pump at 2500 psi is around 80 ft-lb, and I know the crank ought to be way more than that. So as an experiment I’m going to try driving the pump from t...

John that’s quite a unit. I can see that it should bolt to the face of the crank pulley, must be a different one than what my FSM came with. Mine has a hand-starting style retainer bolt and a pulley with no threaded holes in it, from what I can tell.

For installing a separate hydraulic pump in front of the crankshaft, can anyone provide a picture of the connections between the pump and crank shaft?

Looks like that drive was missing a few pieces. I can see now why the cables are sold in different lengths between the Smith and AC units. And that thread had a nice close-up of the Smiths tachometer as well, I haven’t seen anything but pictures of reproduction for any of the various tachs used so f...

Were Smiths units used alongside AC units? Did they have their own drive like AC does?

That’s quite an array of different models. So far I have been able to find 4 different models, but they aren’t always advertised in the correct year range and sometimes no year is given at all! The application of the counterclockwise version is obvious, but how does one know for sure how to sort out...

Hello Fordson Fans! There are quite a number of tachometers that were used over the years, changing with the variety of fitment needs. There are also a great number of aftermarket and reproduction units available, and a handful of companies that still repair and restore mechanical tachometers. Tell ...

Learn something new every day! For my next trick, I’ll open a discussion on Tachometers. I know, there are many!

That’s an interesting bit. I suppose this wouldn’t affect the tachometer type on most earlier tractors, as many are driven from a small right-angle drive on the front of the engine. For example mine has a drive on the front marked AC. Being out of the way from the exhauster kit there is plenty of ro...

In searching for various parts I keep seeing listings referring to an “exhauster” as a key point in choosing the correct part. Does anyone have a picture of what this is? Maybe we call it something else in the USA.

Rob

I can double-down on the advice to avoid cheap reproduction tachometers. I picked up one from India for my ‘61, it’s useless. At a sputtering slow idle it reads 1000 rpm, and 1/2 throttle 2000. I’d be OK with a cheap meter that was 5% inaccurate, but this is more like 200% and simply won’t do.

I pulled the tach, no markings anywhere besides the illegible hour meter rollers. I’ll try posting a picture.

Where might there be stamping? The housing and most of the mechanisms inside are still there but the gauge face and glass are long gone, where I might expect to find writings like what your picture above shows.

My cable is definitely bad. Will have to be replaced. What about the PTO speed marking? I was thinking I need a tach that calls for 1600 at rear PTO speed, but all I have seen is 1200. What’s correct?

To start with the cross bolt holding the coupling on the keyed shaft coming from the timing cover was a little loose. This loose bolt contributed to allowing this half of the coupling to work back and forth, wearing the key slot wider. The coupling pad was ok, maybe only contributing a few degrees o...

Hello again, I have a new puzzle to solve. I recently acquired a 61 FSM, equipped with complexly destroyed gauges. The tach/hour set has been busted and left to the elements for so long the numbers are gone off the rollers. Being vacuum governed I know it needs a clockwise tach, but there are 7 roll...

Finally got around to tinkering with the injection system. While poking around one day it crossed my mind that improper injector timing can produce poor running and smoky conditions like I had been experiencing. Sure enough, the drive coupler parts were completely shot. Ordered parts, installed yest...

I have a question about the choice of engine oil if I may. Since the old spec is 30HD, do we assume it was a comparable oil to today’s Diesel engine oils such as used in highway trucks? And is it necessary to use a detergent type oil in the gear cases?

Never mind, found it. Appears to be the same. I found a radiator cap on eBay specifically for the Fordson majors rated at 7 PSI. Can the systems be pressurized further? Is 13 PSI safe?